try to develop skills and relationships that you might need down the road in another career. finally, don't be an eyore. millenials are optimistic. they paid a lot for an education that doesn't guarantee them a lucrative job but they have hope. among those who said they don't earn enough money now, 88% said they believed they would in the future. embrace change, be willing to start over. this is career advice from millenials. for more on this see my column in december's money magazine and let me know what you think at facebook.com/ali velshi, my handle is @ali velshi. we are here weekdays 3:30 p.m. eastern and sunday at 3:00. have a great weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

today in newtown, connecticut, more sad reminders of what happened just a week ago. funerals are being held today for students emilie parker anna marquez green, joe feen gay. yesterday morning at 9:30, people paused to remember the loss. they held a moment of silence and in the town church bells rang 26 times. the national rifle association is finally speaking out on the pass ker in newtown, but the group isn't addressing the idea of banning or limiting guns used to kill the students and teachers at sandy hook elementary. they say the answer is deploying armed guards at schools. >> i call on congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation.

it the only that i can stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> some politicians were quick to slam their proposal. >> the nra, i would say that they were tone deaf, but it's beyond that. they're just deaf. i mean, they have completely ignored, don't understand, don't grasp how deeply wounded this nation was. >> national correspondent susan candiotti joins from us new york. susan, the nra is adamant in its position and here we are talking about it today. so was this their game plan to change the focus of discussioning from gun control to school safety? >> well, good question. but of course, is one exclusive of the other? if you ban these types of weapons, if you restrict the size of magazine clips, for example, does that mean that you couldn't also require an armed

officer in every school in the thing is, the nra did not take any questions at all when they made their statement. they left so we're left to wonder. but we did try to sample opinions of what people are thinking. and we talked to, for example, a gun owner in newtown, connecticut, to see what she thought about this. >> i'm very torn at this point. i'm not happy with the nra. i am not happy with the nra and i'm a gun owner myself. there's just no reason for automatic weapons out there in the public. and clips that discharge so many rounds of ammunition. >> we got the opposite side of the spectrum. we went way over to the other part of the country to los angeles and spoke with a retired sheriff. listen to him. >> the only way to fight fire is with fire. so if you've got somebody that's armed and you're not, you're part of the problem. you're not part of the solution. >> so you're right, miguel. the debate is on. >> so much so. susan, you were one of the first reporters on the scene there,

not to diminish the pain and suffering that the families that the people in the town are going through, but it is a hard story to cover. i covered the oslo massacre in norway. it still sticks with me today. how are you coping a week after? >> these tragedies are always so difficult but especially, of course, for the people who are going through it. and this is a town that is now -- has a new definition of what community means. they are helping each other to get through this. they will have to continue to do that. as time goes by. but here i think everyone agrees, this incident, this massacre at this school here may very well be the tipping point that will force some change. that is what everyone says. and i think that's what everyone there certainly is expecting. >> just tough tough story. what about the investigation, the search is obviously for a motive. have investigators been able to ascertain anything from the shooter's computer about him himself? >> even if they come up with a

motive, miguel, i doubt that anyone will still be able to understand why this happened, but no, they're still working on trying to put that hard drive back together again after the shooter in this case smashed that computer. they're trying to retrieve information. but of course, they're not waiting for that. they're trying to talk to friends, relatives, going on the internet in om other way to find out if he left any kind of footprint to see whether he flagged his intentions to anyone. did he play online games with people and maybe start up a conversation with them? these are some of the things they're trying to do. >> now we're hearing that damd lanza has not been buried with his mother. do you know why? >> well, mother was buried a few days ago in a private ceremony. and a family friend has said it's just too soon for that. they haven't made any decisions and might not until this spring. that's what we know. >> he a family friend saying mrs. lanza was becoming more concerned about adam.

what do we know about that? >> well, you know, clearly we have been unable to find anyone who was friends with this young man. he seemed to spend most of his time at the home, but concern because he's 20 years old. she was talking about maybe moving out west, perhaps enrolling him in a school out there. we don't know whether she ever had help from anyone. was this young man getting any counselling? was she getting help from anyone? and, of course, we're still waiting the results of the toxicology tests to find out whether he, in fact, was taking any prescription drugs. del have anything in his system? there are just so many questions here to try to figure out why this was obviously a troubled young man. >> yeah, clearly she was grappling with something though. thank you so very much. walmart is changing its gun selling policy in the wake of the massacre. it centers on the brand of assault rifle used in the murders. we'll have that story in our next half hour.

it's worse than a lump of coal in the old christmas stocking. higher taxes, lawmakers and president obama have left washington for christmas with no deal on tax hikes and spending cuts set to go in effect after the first of the year. brianna keilar is live in hawaii where the president is spending the christmas holiday. brianna, the president maybe a little too optimistic that a deal can be reached? aloha, by the way. >> he did say last night that he is a hopeless optimist that something can get done, but what we know, it's not going to be that big package, obviously of deficit reduction as well as dealing with these tax hikes that are set to kick in. that's not what's going to be happening, instead, he's pressing for something smaller just to a deal with stopping those tax hikes from kicking in for americans making $250,000 per year or less. and also trying to make sure that unemployment benefits are extended. listen to what president obama said last night and also listen

to what some of the house republican resistance from speaker boehner to his sort of short-term plan here. >> in the next few days, i've asked leaders of congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle class americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million americans, and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction. that's an aachievable goal. that can get done in ten days. >> the president's solution of raising tax rates would still leave red ink as far as the eye can see and it would hurt jobs at a time when far too many of our citizens are struggling to find them. >> reporter: but so now, miguel, the plan is to just deal with the tax hikes, stop them from kicking in. that's what president obama wants to do, and we're not going to be seeing any sort of big agreement that would also include long-term deficit reduction dealing with entitlement reform and spending

cuts. what republicans wanted to see. so that's something that may be dealt with sometime in the new year, but it's just not on agenda as the president struggles to get this done here in the next few days. >> and if there is no deal, are workers across the country going to see an extra little bump in the amount the government takes from their paychecks starting january 1? >> not starting january 1. technically, these tax cuts would expire at the beginning of the year. so that is the truth. however, if you were looking at your paycheck and you fell certainly under seeing your taxes increase, you wouldn't see that kick in right january 1st. processors, payroll processors would use the 2012 equation to deal with that, and until there's some certainty in exactly what's going to happen, they wouldn't use the new equation. so you wouldn't see it until perhaps the end of january, the beginning of february. but if the country were say,

hypothetically speaking to go off the cliff that to persist, ultimately somewhere into late january, you might see that affect your paycheck. >> oh, dear. the house speaker john boehner was dealt what seems to be a hugely embarrassing blow by his own party when they refused to vote on his plan b proposal. how bad is it for republicans right now? >> well, right now, they are sitting at home in their home districts. that's what happened. congress left town. and they are sort of in a way house republicans have abdicated their role in this process. you know, normally if you were in their role, you want to maintain a position of trying to shape whatever legislation might go forward. but now the ball, they've taken it out of their court. it comes down to the senate having to do something which is democratic led but in order to push something through will require some republican support there. so house republicans have kind of abdicated their role in this to the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. if perhaps he could get on board with something with democrats in the senate to move along,

presumably that might be able to be pushed through the house. the house republicans at least some of them, would have to vote on that in order to pass it so they have some i guess influence in that regard, but really they've given away a lot of their -- almost all of their influence on what this package can ultimately look like. >> oh, dear, i'm not smelling a lot of hope. aloha. thank you very much, brianna keilar. it's a wintry mess for much of the country today as americans gear up for holiday travel. this midwest blizzard is now ripping across the northeast. most of the problems are from high winds as high as 40 miles per hour. aaa predicts some 93 million americans will travel between now and new year's. but if the roads look anything like this, you may want to stay home. alexander steele is in the cnn weather center. what's the latest on the storm? >> this holiday has been fraught with airport delays. today is no different. washington, d.c. an hour plus

delay for you. newark there all morning. fort lauderdale has trouble at the airport but that is not wind related. san francisco, the rain an inundation with rain today for you, as well. big picture today, the wind and rain and, of course, the snow off the great lakes in the northeast. the rain and mountain snow in the sierra we'll be tallying it up to feet of snow. some incredible ski conditions, but the balance of the country today is dry and a little bit colder than where we should be this time of year. a white christmas, look at the swathe of it. meet logically a white christmas is when there's an inch of snow on ground christmas morning. it doesn't have to be knowing at that time. so much of the countries will see that. but the forecast for christmas here in the northeast, not out of the question for boston and new york to see snow flurries. in the northeast predominantly it will be dry and cool. atlanta rain for you on christmas. nashville, as well. so cloudy and a little bit of rainy in the southeast. in the upper midwest to northern

plains, cold but dry. minneapolis, fargo in the single digits. and out west, more rain from seattle to san francisco on tuesday. really, it's the west coast getting slammed with all this rain, especially san francisco. >> skiing, white christmas, i love it. alexandre, thank you very much. >> sure. there's a 12 days of christmas but we're just ten days to the fiscal cliff. could these two men end up being the grinches that steal christmas? we'll talk live to republican congressmen about what's stopping the president and the house speaker from reaching a deal. i always wait until the last minute. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

we're just ten days away from the country going over the

so-called fiscal cliff, automatic tax increases on nearly every american and huge spending cuts to defense and social programs are set to take effect the 1st of january unless the president and congress reach a new budget deal. but most lawmakers have deserted the capital to be home for christmas leaving america teetering on the brink. one of those enjoying christmas back if california is republican congressman tom mcclintock joining us from sacramento, california. you are a tea partier. you're part of the tea party caucus but you supported house speaker bane area plan b. yes? >>, of course, i did. again, there is no bill before the congress that proposes raising taxes on millionaires or anybody else for that matter. there is a law that goes into effect in ten days that raises taxes on millionaires, small businesses filing as millionaires and everybody else. boehner's bill tried to stop that for everybody else.

offa lifeguard sees ten swimmers drowning off of his beach and can only reach nine of them to save them, it doesn't mean that he's drowned the tenth one. all in nonsense somehow boehner was trying to raise taxes is just that, nonsense. >> your point is if you are anti-tax, vote for this bill. >> he was trying to stop a massive tax increase and unfortunately, some of my colleagues didn't see it that way. >> how bad is it up there? americans look at what's happening in washington right now and want both sides to get to work. i know it can be very collegial up there but in these meetings behind closed doors, what's the atmosphere like? >> miguel, bad process creates bad policy. and what we're watching today is extraordinarily bad process. for example, the president is not supposed to be part of the negotiations of the legislative branch. he is a separate branch of government. the deliberative process is

supposed to be contained independently within the two houses, the house and senate are supposed to act independently of each other. in order to do so, in offered to deliberate, we've got to be in the same room 0 deliberate. instead we're scattered across the country. i'm embarrassed to be speaking to you from my district when we should be back in washington right now. when each house then comes to its own independent judgment upon the course of action, then we've got a conference process that's very good at resolving the differences between the two houses. but it has not been invoked. only then is the president brought into the process. what we've got now is a couple of legislative leaders sitting behind closed doors coming up with plans that they then drop in the laps of both houses of the congress for a take it or leave it vote. that doesn't end well. >> it's just so frustrating. how bad is it for speaker boehner right now? this is a guy who put up a plan and his own party couldn't get it to pass. how is that playing out?

where does that leave you guys? >> two years ago, speaker boehner promised to restore that process around which our entire government was designed. and so far, he has failed to fulfill that promise. i fault him for that. the plan that he will produced i thought was sound. that's why i supported it. but it is -- it obviously did not command a consensus within the house of representatives. and that's because it was bad process. we have committees that are supposed to be -- supposed to include people who have got expertise, years of experience in those fields and that represent the diversity of opinion within the house of representatives. they're supposed to be producing these proposals. unfortunately, they've been sidelined. the house has been sidelined and instead this whole process has been abdicated to legislative leaders. our system was not designed to operate that way and it invariably produces terrible public policy. >> is a deal going to get done?

yes or no. >> well, that requires fortune telling skills. i don't have any. it has to be because the alternative is unthinkable. on january 1st, we're going to see more than a 20% increase in the tax burden of this country in a vet brittle economy. that is going to be devastating. frankly, the president's insistence that we raise taxes on those very wealthy folks who make over $200,000 is disastrous because many of those very wealthy folks aren't even folks. they're 1.3 million small businesses that file under sub chapter s. 84% of net small business income would be hit by that tax increase. that's going to cost, according to the congressional budget office, more than 200,000 middle class jobs, 700,000 if you believe ernst & young. that would be devastating. there's got to be a resolution to this. i certainly hope that the president doesn't get his way, and impose massive tax increases on these small byes.

>> congressman. >> two-thirds of the jobs we depend on in our society. >> congressman, thank you very much. try to have a merry christmas. hillary clinton gets ready to step down as secretary of state. but will questions about the attack on the u.s. consulate in the libya impact her legacy? we actully keep track of how many times this kid picked his nose? hair pulls, stink eyes, man we see eveything. oh, it's the old man. hold on, i gotta send something out.

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secretary of state hillary clinton says she'll implement all the changes suggested by an accountability review board in response to the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi libya. the u.s. ambassador and three others were killed. the report slammed the state department for what it called systemic failures leading up to the attack. four senior level state

department officials took the hit. one resigned, the other three put on administrative leave. how does this whole thing affect her legacy especially if she decides to run for president in 2016? allen lichtman joins us. the board did not blame the secretary but made clear there were problems high up at the state department. pretty damning. what's the impact on secretary clinton? >> pretty damning. to paraphrase harry truman, when you lead an organization like this in government, you're riding the tiger. well, the tiger didn't quite devour her but it took quite a bite out of her. can she recover before 2016? absolutely yes. this is not chap quick dick where the blame for a death seemed to fall squarely on senator kennedy. and really he never could recover from that. here the blame is spread far and wide. the commission did not pinpoint hillary clinton, and of course, the blame also falls on members of congress who have been very

liberal about making appropriations for war but very stingy about making appropriations for diplomacy and the department of state. >> she's been such a stellar secretary of state in so many ways. the travel that she does, the connections she makes, the heft that she brings to the office, but the report does say that the ambassador turned down ambassador stevens' request for additional security. did she have eyes on these individuals and libya was such a high profile endeavor for the administration. wasn't -- respect her fingerprints at least at a distance on this thing? >> i have to agree with that. again truman said the buck stops here and the buck really does stop with her. let me say this. she's done about as well as she can to recover. as you know, looking at the history of scandals even watergate and the clinton impeachment, often the cover-up is worse than the deed. there's no cover-up at least on her part here. she's taken responsibility and she's accepted the

recommendations. but let me tell you what's really going on here about these government commissions. take them all, you know, from the pearl harbor commission to the warren commission to the 9/11 commission to this one. these official government commissions are partly designed to limit damage anton conceal as much as they reveal. what we didn't learn from this commission and we really need to know is what in the world is really going on in libya? who are our friends there? who are our enemies? what's the direction of post-gadhafi libya? can this kind of thing happen again in the report doesn't tell us. >> above and beyond, that's a good point. this seems like an intelligence failure, that we didn't know clearly enough that these guys were out there waiting in the wings to strike. they're always like this, yes? >> that's right. you know, you can label any number of intelligence failures. you know, the horrific failure of intelligence with regard to iraq and weapons of mass

destruction. the intelligence community could even predict the demise of the soviet empire. time and again this happens. but let me say this. the american people have fairly short memories. 2016 is a long way away. all this came out during the holiday season, during the time of the terrible tragedy, of course, at sandy hook elementary while we're struggling not to fall over the fiscal cliff. in terms of the timing, it actually helps her. right now, she stands like a colossus over the democratic field of candidates. it's very hard to find someone else after hillary clinton, particularly given that at least as of the moment she has 60 to 70% approval ratings. >> doctor, thank you very much. very, very happy holidays to you. >> you too, miguel. >> i want to share a little nicer lighter maybe even an uplifting story. it's about a young thor raising money to help other kids just like him. these are dr. sanjay gupta with

today's human factor. >> 9-year-old evan moss is a boy who seemingly only cares about one simple thing. >> all of these all filled with pokeman cards. >> unfortunately his life isn't so simple. >> when he was just a couple weeks old, he started having these little shaky movements. it was one arm that would sort of twitch a little bit and just last a few seconds. >> robert and lisa took their son to dos of doctors appointments and he was eventually diagnosed with tuberous sker lowe row sis complex. it causes rare tumors to grow inside the brain and vital organs. his tsc includes potentially life-threatening seizures that can happen at any moment. since his parents can't watch over him all the time, they began to look for an extra set of eyes, ears and a nose. >> we were also finding out that not only did these dogs respond to seizures --

>> good dogging. >> -- that they had the capability to alert you to tell you that the individual might have a seizure or might soon be having a seizure. >> as you might imagine, these types of highly trained service dogs, dogs that can literally sniff out chemical changes in the body leading up to a seizure don't come cheap. >> a service dog generally costs anywhere from 22,000 to $25,000 and they ask for each recipient family to fund raise $13,000 of that to offset the cost. and as part of the application they ask for something from the child receiving the dog. he said can i write a book? >> my seizure dog. buy me. one day i will get a seizure dog to help me when i have a seizure. we will be best friends. >> let me try something. >> big sister aria suggested

their parents self-publish his book on amazon where it quickly shot to the top of one of the site's best seller lists. a book signing followed at neighborhood coffee shop. the turnout was overwhelming. >> we did end up raising around $45,000 and helped before seven additional children complete their fund-raising. >> come on, climb up. >> mindy rarely leaves his side during the day. at school, on the bus. >> come here. >> in the backyard. and never leaves his side at night. >> the seizure dog will sleep with me. if i have a seizure during my sleep, the seizure dog will tell my parents. >> mindy moss, family pet, parents' security blanket and evan's best friend. dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. >> and joining sanjay gupta at 4:30 eastern time to look closer at the mass shooting in connecticut, in particular at

the gunman, adam lanza. he'll investigate what he did and did not have in common with gun nen other mass murders. wal-mart, world's biggest retailer is changing its gun selling policy because of the deadly school shooting in connecticut. we'll tell you what that means for those who want to buy guns.

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connecticut, prompted a change in walmart's gun selling policy. it has removed the ar-15 assault rifle from its website. it's the same kind of rifle used in the school ms. ker, but the company major gun seller says it will do what the customer wants. here's gary tuchman. >> reporter: this is walmart headquarters in bentonville, arkansas the number one retailer in the world and one of the top if not the top seller of guns, including semi-automatic weapons. david tovar is one of walmart's vice presidents. >> we've had heavy hearts this week just like everybody else has and we've had a lot of discussions around walmart. >> walmart officials rarely go on camera and haven't gone on camera since the shootings. none of the guns used in the shootings were purchased there, but the sheer number of guns the company else is has always been a sensitive topic. although walmart doesn't sell weapons on its website it lists they will and directs customers to the stores that carry them. but after the shootings, walmart did remove one of the weapons

used in connecticut, the bush master ar-15 from its website. it is still available for purchase in stores. >> has the decision been made to sell as many guns now as before the incident in the connecticut? >> we think it's important to strike the right balance between being age to serve our customers but also sell firearms in the most responsible manner possible. >> so as many today as before the intercept though. >> that's correct. >> we went inside a walmart today where we did see an ample supply of semi-automatic weapons available. although the bush master ar-15 rifle was sold out. i asked the walmart vice president what kind of discussions executives have had since the horrifying connecticut murders? >> this week we've had a lot of conversations. we've reached out to mayor bloomberg's coalition on responsible firearms. we've been a charter member of that organization. we've reached out to sportsmen's groups and others. >> they decided their customers want to be able to buy these guns. so there is no plan to change

anything right now. >> is there any collective guilt sometimes where you hear of a case where someone bought a weapon at walmart, a semi-automatic weapon and committed a crime? because that has happened. >> unfortunately, those things do happen. and you know, we're like other people around the country where you know, we're mothers, we're fathers, we're parents and we have heavy hearts when those types of unfortunate incidents do happen. but you know, we do know that we have a very strong froom sell firearms in the most responsible manner as we can. >> walmart sells guns in less than half its stores. but in 2011 decided to expand their sale of guns to additional stores and increase inventory to some of the once already selling them. the reason? revenue. guns are a very good business for walmart. >> when you decide in 2011 to sell more guns, is there ever any talk in the executive headquarters that maybe we shouldn't sell more?

maybe that would be considered irresponsible by the public? >> we mick a lot of decisions around merchandising based on customer feedback, and so we have a lot of discussions about that. >> customer feedback and not politics? >> customer feedback. one of our sayings at bhaurlt is the customer is number one. that's who we focus on. that's who we listen to. they guide our decisions. >> but walmart could and might change its mind abruptly. >> if one particular thing was to happen. >> if the law were to change, we'd follow the law. >> gary tuchman, cnn, bentonville, arkansas. if scenes of torture make you squeamish you're not alone. the cia objects to such scenes in the new film zero dark 30 saying they're not historically accurate. and barbara streisand tells pierce% larson. marlon brando calling her to sing him a song. yeah, sure you. great. where's your gift? uh...

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. here's what's trending online. california's new law banning conversion therapy for gay minors is now on hold. a federal appeals panel has issued an emergency injunction blocking the state ban. conversion or so-called repairtive therapy is a practice that claims to turn a gay person straight.

how does 7 bucks for a gallon of milk sound to you? if congress doesn't extend the current agriculture bill by january 1st, prices could double. it's just one more thing to worry about as we wait to find out if a fiscal cliff deal will get done. singer and actress barbra streisand has a new movie called "guilt trip." she recently spoke with piers morgan about politics, acting and making peace with her mom. >> what have been the proudest moments for you with obama? i imagine one of them is when he came out so vocally for gay rights finally. >> absolutely, that's great. >> what else? >> what else has he done are you saying? >> yeah, that you're particularly proud of. >> his stance for women. women, the power of women or not allowing just for that one reason in my show i would say i'm not going to tell you, i would say i'm not going to tell you who to vote for but if you want clean

air, you want good food and so forth and if you believe that a woman has a right to choose what happens in her own body, in other words, or you think your body belongs to the state, there's a clear choice. how could you thank god that akin and murdoch came out with those extremist views. >> they were extraordinary statements. >> unbelievable. i thought isn't that great. keep talking, boys. >> when you watched the footage of those moments, neither of them had a clue they said anything remotely contentious. >> that's scary. >> i found that pretty unsettling. you could reach the point of potentially becoming a senator and actually have no clue what you're saying is deeply offensive to many people. >> right. some men, mostly women, right? >> yeah. >> yeah, it was deeply offensive. >> do you feel that there's any form of real equality yet in america for women? >> we're one of the last countries to ever think of having a woman be president. but i think that's possible now, but it wasn't years ago.

>> do you think hillary is likely to run in 2016? >> i don't know but i hope after a four-year rest, that she would run because she would be a great woman president. >> who is the greatest actor you've ever seen? i know you love acting. it's your great love, great passion. who do you think. >> marlon brando. >> really? >> no question. why, do you doubt that? >> no, i don't actually. i think he would definitely -- i remember interviewing dennis hopper once and he said james dean for him had the brando thing, as well. >> but brando was first. >> yeah. >> no, he was fascinating. he would call me up sometimes he called me up once and said, sing me a song. and i said, marlon, that's like me asking you to recite hamlet. to which he proceeded to recite a soliloquy from hamlet.

>> did you have to sing? >> i did. >> what did you sing him? >> i sang a song called "nobody's heart belongs to me." >> just on the phone to marlon brando? >> and i remember sitting in my kitchen, i'll never forget, it's one of those moments you never forget. i'm going this is before they had gizmos to record things, i'm going -- to hamlet. so i had to sing him a song. >> how did you feel when your mother died? did you feel that you had reconciled things with her. >> basically, yeah. little -- a short time before she died i remember going to her house and she had alzheimers. and she didn't recognize me really. but i started to sing her a melody of something she had sung when she was younger. and that she remembered. and it just shows you the power of music, doesn't it? i mean, this alzheimers mind but could remember the tune. >> what was it you sang?

do you remember? >> it was something that she made a record of when she -- when i was 13 and she took me but it was really because she made the records and then i was able to make a record when i was 13. >> do you think she was proud of you? >> you know what it was? i used to sayma, how come you never told me i love you, you never said those words or really hugged me. she said, i didn't want you to get a swelled head. >> barbara, she's really like butta streisand's movie guilt trip co-stars seth rogen and now in theaters. piers morgan airs each weeknight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. it's a popular holiday tradition going to see a movie that opens on christmas day. find out our critics picks for the christmas relations. ♪

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with odor free aspercreme. powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. so all you notice is relief. aspercreme. a new film zero dark 30 purports to tell the story of the killing of osama bin laden but the cia has taken the unusual step of criticizing the movie calling it inaccurate, in particular the agency takes issue with the scenes of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques used by cia operatives. when you think of christmas, a few traditions come to mind from opening presents to singing carols but another tradition is going to see a movie, of course, that opens on christmas day.

joining me to talk about some of the big christmas releases is gray drake. gray drama drake, senior editor of rotten tomatoes. gray what are the topics? >> well, the good news is that everything is good in the theaters this season like i can't think of a bad film. my top three favorites "jack reacher," "less miserable be," and? "django unchained" hands down. >> violent these films given the mood of the countries. nice hat, by the way. >> thank you. >> they could be tough films. what about end of the world? it's not you're still there, i'm still here but maybe you're in the mood for end of the world flicks. any thoughts on that. >> if you were so so depressed that the world didn't yesterday and you just have to watch a film to cope which is what i do to cope with things, then i think "the day the earth stood still," the 1951 version, don't deal with the remake, just go to the original source. that movie's a great message of actual nonviolence.

another fantastic armageddon movie and one of the best i think actually made for tv end of the world movies is called "asteroid." and this stars annabella schiori. if anybody remembers that fantastic actress. she is an expert on the world and it is coming to an end because the asteroids are coming. this was made for tv, but it won an emmy for outstanding visual effects that actually rival a lot of movies we see in theaters. i just rewatched it and i wear to you it's spectacular. and i actually just love watching major cities get destroyed in a completely fake and ridiculous way, which is what this movie is. >> anyone wearing a hat like this certainly would. but jack reacher, les mis and django. why these for christmas? >> they are a touch violent. here's the thing "jack reacher" is surprisingly funny and tom

cruise is once again helping us through is the holidays by hunting down the bad guys. he's a movie star, nobody does it better and by the way, the dude does his own stunts. i couldn't believe it when i was watching it. and i laughed through the whole thing. now, "less miserables" is, of course, account movie adaptation of the very, very popular music musical which i knew nothing about. all the critics aren't completely in love with it, but i thought it was if ied with passionate performances and watching ann hathaway almost starving to death in front of my very eyes helped me kick start my holiday diet. >> come on, now. >> she's magnificent. i actually think we're going to see tons of oscar awards come out of this movie. >> and tarantino's "django." >> unbelievable. latest film from quentin tarantino, incredibly violent. but jamie foxx, samuel jackson giving the performances of a

lifetime. jamie foxx is playing the main character who is a slave that becomes a bounty hunter and christoph waltz in the film brings so much humor to a role that could have just not worked at all. this whole movie is an unexpected delight. and i really hope that quentin tarantino keeps making movies because they keep getting better. you've got a lot of ways to blow off steam this holiday. go with the family, escape from the family, however you do it, the cinema is the place to be this year. >> all right, zhu zhu's petals, if you had to get one old-time christmas movie that you had to sort of snuggle up around the fire and watch a movie with your loved one, what film would that be? >> i got to tell you i'm a huge fan of the classics. so you can't get around watching "it's a wonderful life" and "white christmas." but for me bill murray in scrooged is absolutely the christmas pick of the year because it's the only version of christmas carol that you need, as far as i'm concerned. he is fantasticing in it.

and i love the jokes. >> yeah, it's an oldie but a goodie. thank you very, very much. remember you can get more, we always need more of grae drake at rotten tomatos.com. the world didn't end but the false mayan prophecy is creating a tourism boom in one of the seven wonders of the world. we will take you there.

for some residents of a

small town in spain christmas came a little early. they have won the bulk of the country's annual christmas lottery that pays out $2.2 billion. it usually goes thousands of winners. the biggest prize was won by residents of this town near madrid. spaniards usually buy tickets to share and share it amongst their friends and family so the joy is spread around. the so-called mayan end of the world prediction has come and gone. i think we're all still here, but tourists have good reason to get a taste of mayan history and culture in cheech knee za, mexico. nick parker gives us a look. >> i'm here in ancient mayan ruins of cheech i neat za where thousands came to mark the end of the world as some said. well, the world didn't end but there are still many, many good reasons to come and visit what has been described as one of the

seven wonders of the modern world. chichen itza was one confident largest cities in the em buyer. it stretches out about five square kilometers of ground here in the yucatan. a lot of the architecture is still extremely imposing. it templeal corresponds to the mayan calendar. a lot of steps and panels represent months and years and as you can see all around me, there's still a great deal of enthusiasm amongst tourists for coming. nick parker, cnn, chichen ida mexico. >> can you do to keep from getting the flu? dr. sanjay gupta will be here, that plus top stories straight ahead. i always wait until the last minute.

can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. [ nyquil bottle ] just reading your label. wait...you relieve nasal congestion? sure don't you? [ nyquil bottle ] dude! [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't.

you're in the cnn newsroom 37 thanks for joining us. i'm miguel marquez. here are the top stories. it's worse than a lump of coal in ye old christmas stocking. higher taxes, lawmakers and president obama have left washington for christmas with no deal on tax hikes and spending cuts set to go into effect at the first of the year. brianna keilar is live in hawaii where the president is spending the christmas holiday. brianna, aloha and where do we go from here?

>> well, right now, as you know, congress has left washington. and members of congress and senators are in their home states and districts. president obama here in hawaii. the next step will be for the senate to reconvene, which it's scheduled to do december 27th. till then, it's up to the white house to try to work out a situation at least on the tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year, work out a deal with the senate majority leader, harry reid as well as the senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, trying to figure out something that could ultimately pass the senate and then next pass the house with not only republican support but democratic support, as well. and the president holding out hope this could happen. take a listen. >> nobody can get 100% of what they want. and this is not simply a contest between parties in terms of who looks good and who doesn't. call me a hopeless optimist.

but i actually still think we can get it done. >> but the chances of getting something big done that deals with the fiscal health of the country, miguel, out the window at this point. this is something we're talking about to deal just with those tax cuts set to expire for those making $250,000 or less. and also the president wants to deal with extending unemployment benefits for people who are out of work, but when it comes to dealing with, say, entitlement reform and other things to bring down the deficit, tax reform, that's not expected to be part of this. >> wow, pushing it right to the edge. will americans, workers across the country see that little line in their paycheck, the taxes go up on january 1st so there's no deal? >> we're not expecting thattal happen. payroll processors would likely wait to see if congress was able -- if they're able to work out a deal before they would start implementing that in a way

that people would see in their paychecks but if the fiscal cliff did turn out to be permanent, you would expect to see that reflected in paychecks end of january perhaps the beginning of february and in the interim, you're expecting there would be a lot of market reaction obviously and a lot of consumer confidence taking a hit as well, miguel. >> what's the president up to in hawaii and the family? >> well, officially there's only one thing on his public schedule at this point. this just came out from the white house. tomorrow senator inouye who passed away this past week, the longest serving member of congress, he was lying in state in washington. he is going to be buried here in his native hawaii tomorrow at a cemetery here in honolulu. the president is going to be attending that service. but in the interim, we expect the president will do some of the things that he normally does with his family. he often goes for save ice with his daughters or maybe goes out for dinner with his wife and meeting his half sister maya.

but all of those things happen as they happen and we find out sort of at the time. nothing public other than him going to senator inouye's funeral. >> thank you very much, brianna. try to take time for yourself. it looks absolutely lovely behind you. in a few minutes, we'll talk to a democratic congressman about how she thinks we can stop the talling off the fiscal cliff. in syria's capital, damascus, two bombs, ten dead. one a car bomb exploded in a damascus neighborhood, the other a shelling at a bakery in a suburb. syrian state tv calls it a terrorist explosion. bp agreed to pay up for its role in one of the worst oil spills in history and now a judge has signed off on it. they settled for an estimated $7.8 billion the money to go to thousands of businesses and people affected by the spill. they pled guilty last month for the explosion that killed 11 people. millions of us are getting

ready to travel for the holidays and are already on the road. the bad news, if you're driving, gas prices just hit a speed bump. after falling for most of last month, the average price per gallon is up 1.2 cents to $3.24. the good news, that it's about the same price it was a year ago. drivers in the middle of the country also have to deal with this. take a look at cleveland, ohio. as a major winter storm raced through there yesterday. the day before, the blizzard left nine inches in places like omaha, nebraska and more than a foot in some area farther north. it is now headed east. there is now a blizzard warninging in effect for west virginia and maryland. our victor blackwell is braving the cold at a toll booth. you brave man, near cleveland. victor, it was dicey out there yesterday. how are things looking now? is not as great as things look in honolulu. let me put that out on the table. i heard you speaking with brianna. you said enjoy some of that

time. we have enjoyed beautiful cleveland and richfield, ohio. the roads here are good. things are fine here. we know that more than 90% of the about 93 million people who will travel for christmas and the holidays at the end of the year will be on the road. and we have a little bit of trouble in virginia. about 40 miles of i-95 south of washington, d.c. is just on the national highway traffic and safety administration website just red with flags all the way through. jackknifed tractor-trailer, cars on the side of the road. as that storm moves east. now, there are also some problems at the airports. we have ground delays in san francisco on the west coast because of wind from a storm coming in from the pacific. also the storm on the east coast. you've grot got ground delays in newark and also at dulles in virginia just outside of d.c. that's going to be a problem. there's also some delays in fort lauderdale at the ft. lauderdale hollywood international airport

but that's because of construction. so some problems that could cause a ripple effect at other airports but overall, nationwide, when you think about how many people are on the road, 40 miles of i-95 south of d.c. is not really that bad, miguel. >> power outages, any branching breaking lines that we often see? >> we know here in cleveland we saw a guy this morning when we out to breakfast, he was inside the diner. he had come because he lost power when a tree fell on power lines outside of his house. so yes, minor power outages here in cleveland but nothing like midweek with more than 400,000 customers out in the midwest. >> victor blackwell at ohio's most inviting toll booth there. sorry you're not in hawaii, my friend. >> it's beautiful. >> alexandre steel is in the cnn weather center. what can we look for in the next few days? >> tuesday is christmas.

every kid wants to know if they'll see a white house christmas. meet logically is when there's an inch of snow on the ground when you wake up christmas morning. it can fall in the afternoon but meet logically that's the definition. here's where we'll see that. upstate new york and the adirondacks getting over a foot of snow with lake effect snow bands coming through tonight. from billings to denver to the twin cities, pittsburgh even, white snow and certainly a white house christmas for you. but christmas forecasts around the country, let me walk you through it. boston to new york, temperatures stay in the 30s. so it will be cool and even snow showers potentially around there for you. it's going to be chilly buff throw pittsburgh. the ground may be dry and may be white but it's going to be dry as well with partly cloudy to partly sunny skies. southeast, temperatures in the 40s and 50s. it will be raining for the most part. 55 in atlanta with rain showers. oklahoma city in the 20s. could be snow for you. dallas, rain at 48. raleigh will just be north of that rain line it looks like. in the upper midwest, northern plains, it's cold though.

.12 in minneapolis, 5 in fargo. the pacific northwest, more rain there on christmas. as we head south, cloudy dry skies in san francisco but san francisco has has such an inundation of rain. as we look at this computer model, this is what we're watching. more rain comes into san francisco for tomorrow. and then all eyes look at the southeast. tuesday through thursday, it looks as though another storm develops. could bring more snow to the mid-atlantic and the northeast. wednesday, thursday time period. we have to keep an eye on that. >> everything that you very much. the nra says we need armed guards to protect school children in the wake of the connecticut school shooting. what do americans think to happen? and kevlar inserts for backpacks. that's one of the many ways parents are trying to keep kids safe. we'll dig deeper. and what are some sink things you can do to keep from getting the flu? ♪ any tree on this lot is on me. i'm the messenger, by the way.

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ten days and counting and so far there's no deal between the white house and congress to avoid the fiscal cliff. members of congress have left washington to be home for the christmas holiday. earlier we spoke to a republican house member. now we're talking with congresswoman marcy cap tore an ohio democrat. joining us from detroit. first, congresswoman, let's listen to what speaker boehner had to say about the situation. >> we've got differences, but the corrupt's got big spending problems. we've got to the get serious about addressing them. >> he also said taxes should not go up in anyone's -- the first million dollars of income that anyone makes.

how do you respond on the spending cut side of things and why do you disagree with his tax break plan? >> well, we need both and we need no more division. the american people want unity. the speaker and i both come from the state of ohio. you know it was battleground ohio a few weeks ago before the election. president obama won. the president wants to reach an agreement. we would like speaker boehner along with those in his own party who oppose him to come forward with a proposal that they agree on. our are problem is on the republican side of the aisle sadly. yesterday i was in cleveland, ohio. meeting with members of cleveland city council. we talked about jobs. what we need to do with the budget process in washington to encourage more growth. we talked about housing. we talked about infrastructure but the conversation kept coming back to what's going to happen in washington, are they going to reach agreement. my own view is, let's proceed forward. and not let anyone's taxes go up

in the middle class on january 1st. frankly, the average tax benefit to the average household is about $2,000 a year, $2200. let's just extend that and then let's deal with the other parts of the budgeting that require us, we've already cut $1.7 trillion, we have to look to other solutions on the revenue and on the spending side to pay for the past costs of wars we've been conducting without paying the bill and also the recession-related costs that came out of the great wall street induced meltdown that every single community in this country have faced. so -- so what we really need, we need for the republicans to come together. you know, in ohio speaker bane's district adjoins a gentleman named jim jordan. he and mr. jordan do not agree. there are huge factions inside the republican party in the house that do not allow

agreement. and the democrats we only have 200 votes. you need 218 to pass something in the house. >> is it all republicans though? what is it like behind closed doors? there? what makes americans seemingly so angry over this. everybody says the same thing but nothing happens. what is it like in those meetings up on capitol hill? >> i personal liam a very optimistic person. i think we can do this. but it's going to take agreement inside the republican party. you have the president at the table. you have the senate both democrats and republicans at the table. the problem, the fisher lisure s in the house. ohio carried for president obama and yet within ohio, you have the speaker being opposed by very extremist members of his own party who head this tea party working group in the house and it is that fissure line that is creating the division in the country. the country is not that extreme.

frankly, ohio isn't that extreme. we can reach unified decision here, but it requires everyone being at the table. but the attention ought to be focused at the divisions inside the republican party in the house. it is they who cannot bring a majority of votes in the house and they have the majority. >> all right, well, i certainly agree with you on ohio. i was in columbus stark county ohio this year. love it all. thank you very much, congresswoman. >> marry christmas to all. >> in america owning a gun seems part and parcel of being an american but overseas they don't understand how you can walk into a store or a gun show and walk out with weapons some say should be used only by the military. we'll show you how the world is reacting to americans' gun culture. hey, look! a shooting star!

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coming up, we are going to have more on world reaction to america. and gun control. in the "newsroom." [ male announcer ] if someone asks what it feels like to drive a jeep grand cherokee, tell them it's like being nestled in an eight-way, adjustable, heated and ventilated seat surrounded by a 500-watt sound system while floating on a suspension made of billowy clouds. or you could just hand them your keys. ♪ ♪

it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. the national rifle association is speaking out for the first time on the new town massacre. yesterday its executive vice president said it's time to deploy armed guards at america's schools. >> i call on congress today to

act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> as the debate rages on guns and mass shootings at schools in new jersey, governor chris christie chimed in. he says he doesn't agree with the nra on arming america's schools. >> in general, i don't think that the solution to safety in schools is putting armed guards -- because for it to be real effective in my view from a law enforcement perspective, you have to have an armed guard outside every classroom. an armed guard at the front door, what if this guy got around to one of the side door sfwz there's many doors in and out of schools. the side door or backdoor and use a gun to open the door to go

in. there could be dozen of people dead by that time. >> christie is not the only high profile politician to come out against the idea. no matter who you talk to, it seems everyone has an opinion about the debate specially after the newtown massacre. paul steinhauser found out how people are feeling. >> it appears the tragedy may be making an impact on public opinion on gun control in a way that other mass shootings have not. here's one reason why. more people told us they were angry, shocked and fearful following the sandy hook elementary school shootings than those who felt the same way in january 2011 after a ma shooting in tucson, arizona, that left six people dead and some including then congresswoman gabby giffords severely injured. people say that government and society can take action to prevent future gun violence up

13 points from the arizona shootings. >> over these past five days, a discussion has re-emerged as to what we might do not only to deter mass shootings in the future but to reduce the epidemic of gun violence that plagues this country every single day. >> that was the president on wednesday. as he announced a new effort to prevent such shootings. our poll indicates minds are changing. 43% say the elementary school shootings make them more likely to support gun control loss. a 15-point increase from january 2011, and 5% say they now favor major restrictions on guns or making guns illegal, a five-point rise since early august following the colorado movie theater incident where 1 people were killed. the poll also indicates a big by par san divide and gender gap with most democrats and women had favor of restrictions and most republicans and men opposed. miguel. >> americans aren't the only ones speaking out. people around the world are reacting to the newtown

massacre. at the bottom of the hour, jonathan mann will be here to tell us what the world is saying. >> sometimes coming home can be hard. a minnesota family in which both parents are serving in the military shares their story. >> the day that i came home from deployment was just euphoria. it was fantastic. somebody dropped me off at home and the kids are all there running out and hugs and kisses. then you have to start trying to put yourself back into the life of your family. and, of course, they've been working with you gone for a year. and they have changed how they will do things. >> company. >> when you're deployed, you have a mission. you are accountable for yourself. when you're home especially with children, you're accountable for them. >> can you wash your hands. >> it's a lot more pieces to juggle. >> it's like wow, i'm just

stepping back into my old life, and being away for an entire year made me think about things differently. you change as a person. so what was perfectly fine for you before deployment might not be now. >> it's not like if there was anything broke before deployment. it's all of a sudden fixed. it's the brand-new feeling of yea. you're new and i like you and you smell nice. and then the no, this is my routine and this is my part of the dresser and don't take it over. >> hardest part is managing kids. it's very easy to slip into an a,000 teauthoritarian command me where you command them to do stuff and expect them to do it. >> there's always the adjustment period because he had his daily routine and i had my daily routine and they didn't mesh. you don't want to complain that your spouse isn't doing something because you're happy to have him back. i don't want my husband to think

he was unappreciated to come home. >> i definitely would tell someone deploying to listen to what we're being told about how hard it is because it is that hard. don't expect it to be fantastic when you get back. lower your expectations. lower them a lot and then you'll be pleasantly surprised. >> b bye-bye dad. >> see you later. >> the family had some help with their process. they took part in a research project at the university of minnesota designed to help parents with school age kids re-enter their home after being deployed. the study is known as project ada adapt. it's still on going. and just when gasoline prices are finally coming down, look what's just about to go through the roof unless congress acts soon, you may not be able to afford this grocery store staple. bob, these projections... they're... optimistic.

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everyone's gearing up to celebrate christmas and that includes congress. they've all gone home for the holiday. yea. and president obama arrived in hawaii earlier today, but everyone is expected back in washington thursday after the christmas break. that's because there are just ten days left till the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts take effect. both sides are saying there is still hope for a deal on the fiscal cliff before year's end.

brace yourself for $7 a gallon mick because a federal subsidy to dairy farmers expires january 1st. unless congress acts the government would have to pay farmers twice the current rate driving up the price for everyone. california won't be able to stop so-called conversion therapy for young gay people even though the state has banned an the controversial practice. an appeals court issued an unjings preventing the ban from taking effect. here's what's trending online. three people arrested for a house explosion that nearly wiped out an indianapolis neighborhood last month. two suspects lived in the house that exploded and killed two neighbors. police say their motive was to collect a huge insurance payout. is the pope pardoned his former butler. the vatican says the pope personally visited gabriele before his release to confirm his forgiveness. i only wish i could be splitting

some $2 billion right now. but for some lucky people in spain they get to cash in on the country's annual christmas lottery that pays out $2.2 billion to thousands of winners. the biggest prize was won by residents of a town near madrid. the newtown massacre has people talking about guns and what to do about them. many around the world are baffled by what they see in this country. take a look at those stats from the cdc. in 2009, there were more than 31,000 deaths in the u.s. from firearms. nearly 12,000 homicides and nearly 19,000 people used guns to commit suicide. cnn international jonathan mann has been looking into the phenomenon in the u.s. i've heard people around the countries simply can't believe that the gun culture in the u.s. and how things work here. >> i'm from canada. we're right next door. a lot of guns in canada, but things feel and look very different to canadians when they look at the united states.

you could choose any one of a number of countries. i'll give you an example because it's so telling and that's australia. you think of it is an a wide open country. australia had its own terrible share of mass killings. one in particular drew people's attention 1996, 28-year-old man used a semi-automatic assault style weapon in a tourist spot. he shot 50 people. he killed 35 of them. the port arthur massacre galvanized the country. even the government run by conservatives said we have to do something. essentially what they did is banned assault weapons. acquired much more strict licensing for everyone else and imposed what was semi voluntary buyback program. so they bought people's guns from them in some cases a lot of public pressure on people to give up their guns even if they had a right to keep them under law. they gave them up. they got 650,000 guns out of

people's hands, about a sixth of the guns in australia, and here's what the former foreign minister alexander danner had to say about the experience. >> 67% of all homicides in the united states are committed with firearms whereas in australia, only 11% of homicide s are committed with firearms. the two sets of statistics tells you that the scheme we introduced in 1996, hugely controversial, all of the same arguments about rights to bear arms and so on, it has in the end saved a large number of lives in this country. >> okay. so that's australia which is a country that had a fair number of guns. another country to contrast with also, affluent well educate so he sophisticated japan, virtually nobody owns guns. if you want to get a gun, listen what you have to go through. you have to take a shooting and win test. a psychological test, you have

to take a drug test. there are virtually no guns in japan. there's nothing of the kind that we tend to see here in the united states. our correspondent who was in japan for cnn for years and years now living in the united states covering newtown, listen to what she had to say about the comparison between those two places. >> i moved back to the u.s. this summer for the last five years, i was living in japan as cnn's tokyo correspondent. in that entire time, i never covered a shooting. there aren't any. this is my third mass shooting i've covered in just six months. i don't have the answer but i can compare japan and the u.s. in japan, there are almost no guns. the average person just can't get one. and i have to tell you, it's the safest place i've ever lived. >> and yet, we can talk about a place that you covered as a journalist, the an toyate killings in norway, 2011, summer camp. 77 people killed most youngsters and norway is a country where it

is tough to get a gun. so you can't stop this completely. but people will say if you reduce the number of guns, you'll have fewer of them. here's the thing. this is a country where i can say whatever i want. i can worship any way i want and according to the way the constitution's interpreted i have the same right to arm myself the way i want. that makes this country different than anywhere else. >> thank you very, very much. have great holiday. what can you do to keep from getting the flu? dr. sanjay gupta will be here with simple things you can do to keep from getting sick this own. plus the top stories straight ahead. welcome to chevy's year-end event. so, the 5.3-liter v8 silverado can tow up to 9,600 pounds? 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. get the best offer of the year -- 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance.

hurry. bonus cash ends january 2nd. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. military families face, we understand. at usaa, we know military life is different. we've been there. that's why every bit of financial advice we offer is geared specifically to current and former military members and their families. [ laughs ] dad! dad! [ applause ] ♪ [ male announcer ] life brings obstacles. usaa brings advice. call or visit us online. we're ready to help.

both flu season is upon us and the number of people who have it across the country is growing. it's something we hear about every year, but how much do you really know about the virus and what can you do to avoid it? cnn's chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has the details. >> you know, one thing about the flu season this year is that people are paying about as much attention to it as they have in years past which probably isn't enough. about a third of people have gotten their flu shots so far that need it. so that's a little bit of an indicator. i'll talk about that in a second. i want to point out, miguel, this is a particularly early flu season. we're thinking about the peak of cases usually occurs a little later in the winter. we're already starting to see quite a bit of flu activity.

you can see some of the numbers there. remember, miguel, tens of thousands of people still die from the flu every year. one thing that i think is worth pointing out is that after you've been exposed to the flu virus either in your home or you've touched your hands to your mouth or to your nose, it takes about three or four days to develop flu. so it's not likely that plane ride that you just took or you know, the household that you were just in so sort of keep that in mind, as well. hand washing i'm going to sound silly saying this. but it's still the best way to go. do lots of it. >> yes, everybody around here as the flu. i've been washing my hands quite a bit. how can you protect yourself? isn't it too late to get the shot at this point? >> it's not too late to get it. and you know, people can -- there's again different peaks here. so we're a little bit of an earlier flu season. if you've already had the flu you probably don't need the shot because that sort of taught your

immune system to fight off that the virus if it sees it again. every year, the strain changes a little bit which is why you need a flu shot every year to try and protect yourself from that. also again, the happened washing thing just because the most common sort of wave getting this is literally touching a surface that has the virus on it, and then subconsciously touching your nose or your mouth. we touch our hands to our nose and our mouth literally hundreds of times a day. so any one of those times could be a way to get sick. >> all right. what about the naysayers who say i'm not getting a flu shot because if i do, it's going to make me sick. any truth? >> there's not truth although a lot of people ask me that same thing. i think this is important. first of all, the virus inside a flu shot is dead. it's an inactivated virus and cannot give you the flu. it's a myth to suggest otherwise. why do you not feel well after you get the shot people will ask. here's why.

because when you get the flu shot, the whole point is to sort of ramp up your immune system a little bit, give it a little bit of a boost and say look, this little type of virus here, that's the enemy. next time you see it, attack it, kill it, get rid of it. that's what you want to do. when you get the flu shot and you feel a little lethargic like you're getting a little bit sick, that's your immune system reacting to the flu shot. that's normal. that's supposed to happen. it's a lo lot less significant than if you get the flu. >> i feel better already. thank you very much. >> you got it. thanks, miguel. it's december 22nd in the world. it's still here, right? we're still solid. some people were convinced the apocalypse would arrive yesterday. where did the idea come from? josh levs is here to let us know. >> the world is not on fire and it certainly wasn't smashed. a lot of people having a field day with this including davidler man in his top ten list. >> mayan word for apocalypse, very similar to mayan word for apple crisp.

number four, didn't the world end when justin bieber and selena gomez broke up? just trying to get out of christmas with the "-in-laws. >> there actually was a survey, the public religion research institute found 2% of americans said they believed the world would end based on a prediction by the mayans but nasa explains the mayans did not actually predict that. >> none of the thousands of ruins, tablets and standing stone that archaeologists have examined foretell an end of the world. >> this was a misinterpretation nasa says of the way the mayan calendar. nasa has cool animation to explain. it looks like an odometer from a car. the way the odometer resets to zero, the calendar was to reset on or around december 21st, 2012 based on what the days were. so the world wasn't going to go anywhere even according to the mayans. and there would have been a new

calendar at that point. this is just one of many apocalyptic scenarios nasa has had to fight off. some people believe a planet has been on a collision course with earth. nasa says that's not the case. there's this very cool video called a gam malray burst when a star collapses and creates this black hole and in that process incredibly powerful rays shoot off. nasa says there's no sign this will happen anytime soon in a way that would affect earth. check this out on the screen behind me. this is cnn.com, part of a spread we have that takes you through all sorts of dooms dalt scenarios going back to early days of painting. you can learn a lot about this. this is one of many things i posted up at my pages. take a look at the screen. facebook and twitter, josh levs.com. i have great links for you all to see there. this is one more survey that we've reported on. one-third of americans polled by

the public religion research institute believe the natural disasters we've been seeing are a sign that biblical end times are coming, and 15% of them believe the world will end in their lifetimes. so miguel, what this means, we can certainly expect a lot more apocalyptic predictions every day, every week, every month to come after i posted about this on social media, i've already been hearing from people saying no, the date was wrong, it's tomorrow or january or february. get set, world. a lot more of these coming. >> thank you, josh. senior apocalypse correspondent. very nice. >> thank you. >> keeping kids safe is something parents worry about all the time and after the massacre in newtown, connecticut, they're even more worried. i'll show you one way they hope to keep their children safe at school. i know. i'm will, and this is the nokia lumia 920 from at&t. it's got live tiles so all my stuff's always right there in real-time. it's like the ultimate personal assistant. but i'm me, and me needs handlers. so i hired todd to handle it for me.

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well, it might sound like a contradiction. fighting to take on a growing problem in chicago. street violence, but some people are dedicated, some dedicated young people are taking kids and turning their lives around. photojournalist derek davis shows us how they're doing it. >> i grew up watching boxing all my life. >> boxing is really, really hard. >> takes a lot of discipline. >> some people make it look easy but it's really hard.

>> as soon as i walk in those doors, i just fell in love with boxing. >> there's different things that the gym offers you, and different things that the streets offer you. >> most of the time, the streets will lead you to death for the choices you make. >> the streets are really, really bad. there's a good one or two shootings every weekend. it keeps kids off the street like if the kid is at home, friends come over, let's go out, they're out in the street. and if they come here, it's a real nice environment for them. >> everybody get into the ring. we're going to have the rap session. >> this week i want to talk about unity. in this gym, we are a community. >> we not only do boxing, we do youth development. when you walk in the door, we're not only teaching you boxing, we're also teaching you that you know you have to go to school. we have three or four tutors

that we're trying to get these kids' grades up. i used to have average like b, cs, now i get as and bs. >> we're going to have to put everything we've got into that one minute. >> i joined boxing to stay away from the streets and to get my life together. so it literally saved my life, boxing. i want these kids to go to college for the next generation will be more powerful in our life. we're more than just tough. we're also smart. >> i want to become a champion. and i want to show people that this neighborhood is not only about violence, that there's people in here in the neighborhood that are determined to become somebody in life. >> if i help two, three kids a year, that's a real difference. just like boxing saved me, i'm trying to save others. you can see a collection of these giving infocus stories on christmas day at 12:20 p.m.

millions of parents who witnessed the massacre in newtown asked themselves an almost desperate question. how can i make my child safer at school? i found out one way they hope to do that. bullet-proofing or bullet-resistant backpacks. check this out. >> reporter: it is a disturbing sign of the times. >> you guys make inserts for children's backpacks. >> that's correct. >> reporter: bullet-resistant inserts. >> that's correct. >> reporter: this is one of them? >> yes. >> reporter: show us how they work. >> all right. so this is our military-grade product. >> reporter: coo rich brand says in the last week, sales have jumped 500%, and they're still

climbing. desperate parents seeking ways to protect their kids in the most extreme situations. [ gunfire ] >> reporter: the material will not stop high-velocity rounds like the ones used in newtown. but three shots with a .9 millimeter atpoint blank range. >> all the kinetic energy was absorbed with armor. >> reporter: three small holes, the armor is a little stiffer. and the rounds are inside here. >> that's correct. >> reporter: not alone. in boston, bullet-blocker promises your peace of mind is our business. in austin, texas, bulletproofme.com sales are up 50% at schools and daycare facilities. even the column column ban designer has fashionable resistance for a toddler. you're profitable off terror and

horror. >> this is the last thing we wanted to do. we're trying to meet the needs. >> reporter: amendment 2 says's its proprietary material is like a protective blanket. the company says it can be used as a mat in a school, for instance, and in an imagine for protection. at salt lake city's get some guns and ammo owner stuart wallin says protective gear won't stop a killer. only another gun will. >> if you knew every teacher in the school had a gun i think you would think differently about your plan. >> reporter: utah has allowed teachers to carry concealed weapons. the law is yet to be tested, but after newtown, anything seems possible. >> so many companies now finding ways to make bullet-resistant stuff for kids. amazing. there are other ways out there to help your children stay safe with your cell phone, for instance. our cnn money tech reporter laurie segall joins us with

technology advice and important apps for your kids. hello, laurie, what tips do you have for preparing for emergencies? >> after this happened, i got on the phone and i chatted with a lot of different schools. and for emergencies, one thing i will say, set up a group messaging app with your family. make is very, very easy for you to dial one number and get to everyone. there are a lot of different apps for that. there is an app called what's up, apple's i message. and also this sounds like a no-brainer but understand your school's policy. i spoke with one teacher who works near sandy hook and she said laurie thank god i had my updated e-mail because they're sending out live updates and that allows you to stay up to date with real-time conflict. so if you're a parent, make sure your information, your e-mail, your phone number, that's all updated with the school. miguel? >> and assuming the worst, laurie, what are better ways to connect with your kids during actual emergencies? >> there are a lost apps that promise to help you connect

during emergencies. and one that's actually gotten some attention is called life 360. now, it was put together in 2008 by a group of entrepreneurs and now they have millions and millions of users. and essentially allows you to connect with your family very quickly. and it's used in general parenting but also now more and more for emergencies. let me pull up some bullet points and show exactly some of the types of ways it works. essentially allows you to locate your family members immediately. you can look and see where your family is that uses gps in background. you can find the nearest police and fire stations. your child can can open up the app, see exactly where the nearest law enforcement is near them. also it will send messages to family members. so if you're in any type of trouble, distribute a panic alert, looks like an exclamation mark and it will go out to multiple family members. i will say, miguel, a lot of apps promising to help you connect during emergencies, but i got on the phone and spoke with the founder and he said people use this in general for parenting so when an emergency happens, a child is used to using this app and might go to

this kind of thing. miguel? >> always good to be coupled accustomed to it. any apps to help you handle crime? >> sure, a couple entrepreneurs took this horrifying trend of more shootings in schools and they said we want to do something about it. they have an app called crime push and gaining traction. it's devoted to specific types of situations like that. you're looking at it right there. let me show the main points. essentially it will aggregate all your emergency school contacts. so a child can see who they need to get in touch with pretty quick. it will ping students with relevant updates, something they can say anything from hurricane to there's a shooter in the building and it will show you a push notification of active safety shelters, where to go. the cool part, it will open up a map, show exactly how to get there. you can also text law enforcement, your gps coordinates. a lot of times when this happens, you don't want to jump on the phone, call the police, you're nervous. you can shake your phone. it allows you to do that and it will text local law enforcement where you are. and you can also use it to

collect evidence. it has a prompt that will allow you to take pictures and take videos and send to local law enforcement. again, can technology prevent something as horrific as what's happened in the last week or so? absolutely not. but can it help us connect better? you bet. >> laurie, thank you very much. all very sensible advice. >> thanks. if you haven't done any christmas shopping yet, don't worry. or worry, i don't know. our tech expert has you covered. she'll show you the latest cool gadgets.

it's the top of the hour and you're in the cnn newsroom, i'm in for fredricka whitfield. the national rifle association is finally speaking out on the massacre in newtown. the group isn't addressing the guns used to kill the students and teachers at sandy hook elementary. instead they say the answer is deploying armed guards at deploying armed guards at schools. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com i call on congress today to enact immediately to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> now, surprisingly, some politicians were quick to slam the proposal.

>> the nra, i would say that they were tone deaf. but it's beyond that. they're just deaf. i mean, they have completely ignored, don't understand, don't grasp how deeply wounded this nation was. >> national correspondent susan candiotti joins us from new york while the politicians and nra are jousting what everyday people say about this debate. now that we finally have heard from the nra, susan. >> well, you know, miguel, some of the strongest reaction, not surprisingly, i'm sure, coming from the people who live in newtown, connecticut. that entire community touched by a tragedy when a shooter blasted his way into a school, past the security system, to kill so many people. 26 children and adults. this is what most people said in newtown. not impressed with the nra's proposal. >> yeah. >> i think that's absolutely

ridiculous. i'm a retired school teacher. i would -- you know, how could someone expect that armed guards would, you know, maybe a pistol, just go up against something like a bushmaster, which we saw here happen is absolutely ridiculous. that's the nr a's way to protect their own situation. >> frankly, that seems to be the main theme nationwide. however, not everyone agrees. we talked with some people in california who supported nra's proposal. >> i think it's a good idea, but you're going to have to train these people how to use weapons. once you start shooting inside a classroom, someone is going to get hurt. but the thing is not to let the intruder go into the classroom. >> of course, is one idea exclusive of the other? can you rule out having an assault weapon ban, and also have armed security guards or police officers in every school? perhaps both ideas would work, miguel. >> yeah, you were one of the first reporters on the scene, a

week ago. as hard as it is, we know life has to go on. how are they coping with all of this a week after the fact? >> well, you can imagine. you know, who can say whether this town will ever be able to get over it? obviously, this tragedy will always be linked to newtown, connecticut. of course, everyone is pulling together to try to get through this. and they know as much as anyone else does that what happened in their own backyard may be enough to prompt permanent change. a tipping point, as it were, to come up with a permanent solution to this kind of thing. clearly, things cannot remain the same. that's what everyone seems to agree, miguel. >> and the investigation, susan? the search obviously for a motive, if one can ever be found that would satisfy. but have investigators been able to ascertain anything from the shooter's computer? >> that's certainly one of the main areas of concentration. fbi investigators trying to piece together that hard drive. the computer was smashed by the shooter in this case.

and they're also trying to see whether there is any imprint of the shooter at all on the internet. was he an online gamer, did he flag anyone what his intentions were. they continue to talk to family, friends, a family doctor, to see what was going on in his mind. >> susan, thank you very, very much. i know it's a very tough story to cover. hope you're doing all right. >> oh, sure. overseas now, russia's foreign minister says syria has connel some dated all its whelm california weapons into one place. russia says the move is an attempt to calm fears those weapons could end up, quote, in the wrong hands. meanwhile, more violence today across syria. 30 people died, according to opposition activists. one, a car bomb exploded in a damascus neighborhood. no one claimed responsibility for the car bomb. it's been called a terrorist explosion. a former u.s. marine is out of a maximum can prison today.

jon hammer spent four months locked up, sometimes chained to a bed. hammer was on his way to costa rica to go surfing when he was arrested in august. mexican authorities say the antique gun in his vehicle violated their gun laws. hammer was finally freed after u.s. officials intervened. it is worse than a lump of coal in ye old christmas stocking. higher taxes. lawmakers and president obama have left washington for christmas with no deal on tax cuts and spending cuts. tax hikes and spending cuts that could go in effect the first of the year. cnn's brianna keilar is live in hawaii where the president is spending christmas holiday. brianna, aloha. where do we go from here? >> reporter: aloha to you, miguel. this will be a working christmas vacation for president obama. the senate will reconvene december 27th, so after christmas. and up until that time, it's up to president obama to try to work out a deal with the senate majority leader, harry reed, as

well as the senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell to avert tax hikes going into effect at the new year. the president wants them for those making $250,000 or less to remain in effect and to go up beyond there. but he'll need to work out something presumably that would be able to pass the senate. and then presumably the house with some democratic support, as well as republican support. and listen to what the president said last night. he's holding out hope this can be ton. >> nobody can get 100% of what they want. and this is not simply a contest between parties in terms of who looks good and who doesn't. call me a hopeless optimist. but i actually still think we can get it done. >> reporter: now, the effort to get some sort of big package put together here to deal with the long-term fiscal health of the country dealing with entitlement reform and tax reform in addition to these tax cuts and

spending cuts, miguel, that gets pushed off at this point. who knows when. and it's really this issue of trying to deal with the tax cuts. and the president wants to make sure unemployment benefits are extended for unemployed americans. miguel. >> i'm not hearing a lot of hope in your voice. if this thing does not pass by january 1st, are all americans across the board going to see taxes jacked up in their paychecks? >> reporter: no, i will say, i really do think that there is still time to get something done to avert the tax cuts. i think that's the expectation. but if the fiscal cliff is to be hit, you wouldn't see on a paycheck taxes -- you wouldn't see that affected, necessarily, january 1. payroll processors will wait for some time. because even if the fiscal cliff hits, there would be tremendous pressure on washington to deal with that. and sort of fix it retroactively. so payroll processors may wait, if it were to remain permanent, though, that fiscal cliff, you would see it impact paychecks

probably late january, early february. that's the expectation. >> that is a very thin silver lining around that very dark cloud. what's the president and his family up to in hawaii? >> reporter: nothing public on the schedule right now. we know -- there are some things he normally does, he'll go out normally for shaved ice with his daughters near the home in die kayluha where they're staying or have dinner with his half sister maya. the one thing on his schedule is the funeral tomorrow for senator inouye, the longest-serving member of congress. as you know, there was a funeral in washington, d.c. but there is one here in his native hawaii, as well. a cemetery not far from where we are right now in honolulu. and president obama will be there tomorrow afternoon to pay his respects. >> senator inouye, a tough and lovely man. thank you very much, brianna. i hope you get a little vacation time there yourself.

the fiscal cliff isn't the only -- only american problem. we'll hear in a minute why it might be the fall heard around the world. and a boston cop springs into action. we'll show the rescue that went down in boston harbor. [ female] what if the next big thing, isn't a thing at all? it's lots of things. all waking up. ♪ becoming part of the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ trees will talk to networks will talk to scientists about climate change. cars will talk to road sensors will talk to stoplights about traffic efficiency. the ambulance will talk to patient records will talk to doctors about saving lives. it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away.

the next big thing? we're going to wake the world up. ♪ and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. ♪ cisco. tomorrow starts here. five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story.

can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. lawmakers and president obama have left washington for christmas with no deal on the fiscal cliff. but even though americans are the ones facing the brunt of it, countries around the world are paying attention to what's happening in washington. recently auto deb feyerick spoke with the economics editor for "the economist" magazine. deb asked her why it matters beyond u.s. borders. >> there are really two main channels through which this affects the rest of the world. the first is what you might call the financial channel. financial markets, stock markets around the world, ininvestor

uncertainty and that's hit quickly and that's the channel we'll see being hit more if there isn't a deal and the longer it takes to get one. but the second impact, if the u.s. economy slows even more and it's growing -- likely to be growing slowly in the fourth quarter already, or let alone if it goes into recession, that means that there's less demand for the exports of the rest of the world. they will sell less to the u.s. but more importantly, i think particularly in europe, where they are being forced, many countries, to tighten a lot -- to have a lot of tax increases and spending cuts, a lot of austerity. the u.s. was seen as the kind of great hope for growth in the advanced world and in the rich world. so if the u.s. has its own excessive austerity in the short term, that -- that's a real problem for a world economy growing too slowly. >> there's so much on the table right now. must everything be done at once? or -- you say -- it seems they're taking steps too small. there is no overall tax reform. there is no agreement on the debt limit.

how does that -- how does that play out? is it better to have more all at once or to take baby steps? >> interesting. the most important thing is to avoid doing absolutely nothing. because that's what gets you the kind of massive tax cuts -- tax increases and spending cuts. you don't want stalemate. but in terms of the deal itself, there is a paradox. what you might call a minimalist deal. for example, an agreement only to extend tax cuts for the middle class. that's the kind of -- what i would think of as a small-bore deal. a small-bore deal would involve more short-term tightening. if on the other hand you inked the outlines of a grand bargain, some movement on entitlement reform, tax reform, you had a bigger package, it would actually probably mean less tightening in the short term, and you would have a much clearer path for where the u.s. was going in the medium term. because the u.s. doesn't have a short-term fiscal crisis, except a self-induced one because of the fiscal cliff.

it's not greece. it's not like the u.s. is being forced to act right now. the u.s. has a medium and long-term problem with entitlements and population. if politicians on both sides of the aisle could get together and kind of do a down payment for the long-term entitlement issue, that would give them the room to not only -- would there be sort of benefits from doing that, but also give them the room to not do so much tightening in the short term when the economy is weak. >> all right, zani, thank you so much. terrific insights. appreciate it. >> my pleasure. well, if you haven't done your christmas shopping yet, now is the time to panic. no, don't panic. our tech expert has some ideas. she'll show you the latest cool gadgets. a look into what's next in the culinary world. cool tools and strong drinks. so we're going to make a drink called the thai basil dhaka re, and we use liquid nitrogen to freeze and crush up herbs. this is thai basil. here is the main part of the

technique. pour liquid nitrogen on the herb. liquid nitrogen is going to freeze it. you can hear the herb getting frozen. join me. dr. sanjay gupta. as we introduce you to dave arnold of the international culinary center. [ male announcer ] this december, remember you can stay in and share something ♪ or you can get out there with your friends and actually share something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection.

two days left until christmas. have you done all your shopping? yikes. if not, our cnn money tech reporter laurie segal has a few fun, unique gift ideas for you last-minute shoppers. >> steve, you've brought us a whole table full of holiday gadgets. let's start with this.

how does this work? >> this is the angry bird air swimmer. inflate it and find this happy balance point and after a little bit of assembly, you can fly this around like you're crashing pigs anywhere. >> all controlled by that. >> ir remote. as long as you've got line of sight, good for 30, 40 feet of distance. left and right on the fins in the back, forward momentum. >> explain exactly why these gloves are cool. >> what makes these gloves special, they're bluetooth. so in the thumb, you've got a speaker and in the pinky a microphone. so you can make the classic call me gesture and you can talk on your phone that way. >> right now you're calling. >> we've got this paired to my call and i'm going to call. >> this is strange, i hear your voice coming from my thumb right now. >> it's very inspector gadget. >> it is. >> is that you, chief? >> wow. >> these are $69.99. >> i see you've got an old-school controller and ipad. >> this is the bitty.

syncs with bluetooth, will play for a month, and not the clunky controls of a touch screen. retro feel. >> are we seeing a throwback to the past? >> absolutely seeing a throwback to the past with new technology. especially gifts for the holiday season, a lot of retro flavor. >> like an old arcade game. >> exactly. >> and i'm still great at pac-man. >> you've got skills. >> you've got skills, kid. laurie segal joins us from new york. you don't have -- i'm sure you don't have three french hens for me but something else. it is the third day of christmas, after all. what else for today? >> even better. i have something -- i'm going to hold it up here. it's called clocky, the rolling alarm clock. if you've ever had issues waking up in the morning, it woke me up this morning, a bit of a pain. but it rolls around. you're about to see it. instead of being able to hit the snooze button, it jumps, rolls,

goes around. so by the time you chase your alarm clock around, i can assure you, miguel, you're completely awake. it happened this morning and it was quite the experience. you can buy it on fab.com. it's $45. and fab has all types of quirky little gifts like this. >> i would take a bat to that sucker on the first morning. >> i thought about it. >> it would be dead. it wouldn't last a day, i don't think. any other ideas, any smart ideas there, smarty? >> sure. there are a couple different sites that i go to quite a bit. they're great for last-minute shopping. the first one i mentioned is fab.com. that's a great place to go. they offer free shipping for the holidays, very interesting things there. you've got etsy.com, a lot of local artists put their work here, so inexpensive jewelry, very creative. onekingslane, you want to put stuff in your home, last-minute shopping. and gilt.com, things for men, women and all types of la last-minute deals. if you want to get something for your loved ones, try going to

some of these sites and taking a look around. >> this year everyone is getting underwear and socks. that's it. i don't have the patience. i can't take anymore. laurie, thank you very much. >> thank you. a quick-thinking cop saves the day. it's an incredible thing from the boston harbor. you do not want to miss this. first here is sanjay gupta with a look ahead. >> miguel, i'm looking at the psychology behind mass shootings. and also what it's like to be the parents of someone who is mentally ill. i can tell you, it can be very hard to get someone into treatment. we've got that. much more ahead on sgmd at 4:30.m. eastern. questions? anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating?

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a boston police officer is being hailed a hero after a daring and frigid water rescue. the harrowing ordeal was caught on video. amanda grace from hdh has the story. >> reporter: cell phone video captures edward norton taking the plunge. he jumped into the frigid ft. point channel in a downpour to rescue a woman who had fallen into the water. >> she was in there falling for help and i can swim.

>> he didn't hesitate. he ran down the steps, took off his belt and jumped in the water and swam over to get her. >> reporter: officer norton says the woman was drowning, and he didn't think twice about diving in. >> one of the other officers had been given a life-preserver from someone else. i think it came from the tea party museum. so that actually helped a lot. i was able to hold on to her with -- hold on to that while she was holding on to the life preserver while holding myself up with the raft that was out there. >> with the life preserver around her, they swam to this floating device right here and just held on until the fire department came, and then the divers jumped in the water after them. >> reporter: by standers watched as the boat picked up officer norton, the woman and the two firefighters, all four taken to the hospital to be checked out for hypothermia. >> tell you what. that cop was a hero today. he didn't even think twice about it. >> reporter: but officer norton says it was all in a day's work. >> that's our job to show up when people call for help. so if we don't help, then no one

is going to. >> boston's finest. thank you very much. the storm that swept across the midwest is now marching east. alexandria steele is in the cnn weather center. are we going to see travel disruptions as we head closer to the holidays and people get -- try to get to grandma's house for dinner? >> yeah, we've seen delays throughout this entire holiday, right out of the gate on wednesday, on thursday, friday. so today is no different. we do have a lot of delays, especially in the northeast. you know what's really the culprit, look at these winds. in new york and in washington, we've got wind gusts 40 miles per hour. so it feels like temperatures in the teens and 20s. and also this lake-enhanced snow. a lot of snow showers around vermont and new hampshire and new york state, as well. here's a look at where we've had the delays really all morning long. new york at jfk, an hour and a half and predominantly, wind gust related. newark, san francisco on this delay board for days now, because of thein undation of rain. ft. lauderdale, 55-minute delays

for you, and all day, as well. but that's not weather related. that's construction at the airport. also, here's the big picture, the storm moving out so the winds will abate tomorrow in the northeast. it will certainly be a nicer day. here on the west coast from seattle to portland to down towards san francisco, more rain for you. here's the bigger picture. this is tomorrow. watch another wet day. the california coast and northern and central california, so more rain for san francisco. but here's what we're really watching. this is one of the climate models. and watch what happens here. now, this is monday. so if you're traveling in the southeast on monday, look what develops into tuesday, an area of low pressure. so tuesday it's christmas. in the southeast, i think it's going to be a rain-maker for atlanta and birmingham. nashville, though, maybe a little bit of snow. and here, miguel, a white christmas. so many kids around the country will be enjoying it. meteorologically, a white christmas, inch of snow on the ground on christmas morning. ♪ i'm dreaming of a white christmas ♪ thank you very much. that will did it